Recreational Bookmakers vs. Professional Bookmakers

While at a first glance there is little difference between the basic services offered by top bookmakers list on our website, not all are created equal. It’s true that they all welcome punters and you can bet on sports there, but one major distinction must be made: some are recreational bookmakers only, while others would be more than happy to work with professional punters. If you don’t care about such labels, then you are clearly a recreational bettor and the bookmakers that fall into the recreational category are the best for you. Each type has its own benefits, so choose a bookie that would fit your betting style (for fun or pro level) and you will be much better off with that particular bookmaker. Let’s look at the two classes of online bookmakers and talk about the pros and cons of each.

Recreational Bookmakers – the most common type of online bookies are the recreational ones. They are “for the people” kind of bookmakers and frown upon players whose betting patterns represent a professional gambler. If you are one of the 90%+ punters, just looking to bet a few quid on this week’s game or try your luck at a parlay betting, the rec. bookie is the best choice. This type of online bookmaker will offer a lot of bonuses and free bets, without the need to deposit exorbitant amounts of money to get a great deal. There will be many money back offers, free perks, etc., basically a really good bookmaking operation. Examples of top recreational bookies: Bet365, Unibet, Betsson.

Professional Bookmakers – when we talk about this type of betting sites, we mean that the bettor is a professional punter, not that the bookie takes its job more seriously than the recreational bookmakers. The pro punter is a very small segment of the total number of bettors world-wide, but important part, nevertheless. The professional punter is someone who bets solely to make money and as such, they require a different set of options, compared to the recreational bettor. Since professional punters usually place larger bets than the recreational bettor, among the top requirements of the bookies are the ability to deposit and withdraw large amounts of money (preferably fast for those working with multiple betting sites), as well as the option to place those big bets. Some well-known pro bookmakers, which you can see mentioned at the bottom, are famous for taking bets in the millions from celebrities and special VIP clients. A recreational bookie will never accommodate such enormous wagers. Other requirements include arbitrage betting and low juice odds. While a regular punter would see very little benefit from a 0.05 difference in odds, for example, for a pro punter such small difference could result in hundreds of pounds in profit. The most popular and trusted pro bookmakers are Pinnacle, SBOBet and the Betfair Exchange.